EFB Chapter 362 Begins to Keep a Low Profile
Chapter 362 Begins to Keep a Low Profile
On the way home from the company, Lu Ran sat in the passenger seat without saying a word.
Shen Yuege found it strange and glanced at him several times, asking, "What's wrong? Did the meeting not go well?"
"Smooth sailing." Lu Ran leaned back in his seat, staring at the streetlights outside the window. "Too smooth sailing."
"You're not happy that things are going too smoothly?"
Lu Ran did not answer.
His mind kept replaying Liu's words: "You didn't write this code, did you?"
He didn't show it on stage at the time, but those words really hit him hard.
He was too smug before.
He takes whatever the system gives him and never thinks there's anything wrong with it.
When I'm writing songs, I can write one a day; you could say that when inspiration strikes, it's unstoppable.
I can write a script every few days, which shows I have a sharp mind.
But games are different.
A song can be written and released in just a few days if things go smoothly.
Inspiration is something no one can predict. If you write ten poems a day, people can only say you have great talent and can't doubt anything else.
What about the game?
The normal development cycle for a large-scale game is measured in years.
He, on the other hand, throws out a complete project package at the drop of a hat, complete with source code and art assets.
This time it's Minecraft, but what about next time? And the time after that?
People might think he's awesome once or twice, but after three or four times, they'll start to question him.
After much thought, he knew that sooner or later someone would ask him the question he least wanted to answer.
Engineer Liu's question today is a signal.
It's not that Mr. Liu is a bad person; quite the opposite, he simply said what others dared not say.
There must be more than one person in the technical department who thought this way.
When Lao Wang looked at the code, he said, "This architecture is too clean; it doesn't look like it was written by a human." This meant the same thing.
Lu Ran closed his eyes and mentally reviewed all the actions he had taken during this period.
TUTU's code was taken directly from the system, and they claim it was written by themselves.
The design for "League of Legends" was also taken from the system, and they claimed to have created it themselves.
I did write a part of "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu," but it wasn't a large work, and nobody would care if I told them.
The design of "Three Kingdoms Kill" is partly derived from the system and partly modified by myself, so it can be considered semi-original.
Minecraft is the worst.
They directly presented the complete project package, even openly discussing concepts like Turing completeness.
The people in the conference room looked at him with a mixture of admiration, surprise, and suspicion.
Engineer Liu was the one who was suspicious.
Lu Ran leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath.
I guess Zhou Mingzhe was thinking about it too, but he just didn't say it.
Those of them who are in the industry have a better understanding of when a game is written.
This is the only excuse I can use this time.
When he got home, Lu Ran didn't go to his study as usual. Instead, he sat on the sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the coffee table.
On the way, Lu Ran briefly told Shen Yuege about what happened at the company, using the same excuse.
Shen Yuege didn't suspect him, but she felt it was inappropriate for him to have someone else write the paper.
Now that we have our own company, using outsiders to write the documents would not only make our employees seem incompetent, but also raise concerns about data security.
As for why Lu Ran was able to write so many good games with almost no bugs, Shen Yuege could only attribute it to his sharp mind.
Now that she's home, Shen Yuege sees Lu Ran standing there in a daze. She brings out a cup of hot water from the kitchen and places it in front of him: "Still thinking about that?"
"I'm thinking about how to end this. What's already been done can't be taken back, but I can't keep doing this. When releasing a new game, I have to take it one step at a time. Today I'll release some information, tomorrow a rough sketch, and the day after I'll write a few lines of core code. I want the team to feel that this project grew from scratch, not that I just pulled it down from the sky."
"So you've already moved your Minecraft account out, what are you going to do?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment: "Let's use the reason you gave—that I'm smart. Whether others believe it or not, there's no evidence anyway. I'm a game developer, so it's normal for me to understand technology and write code, right? I didn't steal or rob anyone. I provided the code; as long as it works, who cares where it came from?"
Shen Yuege sat down next to him: "You're quite open-minded."
"I have to come to terms with it, whether I like it or not. I can't just tell Engineer Liu, 'You're right, I didn't write this code.' The more I explain, the more it feels like I'm trying to cover it up."
He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and put it down: "And I'll be more careful in the future. After releasing Minecraft at the end of the year, we won't release any major projects for the entire next year, letting the team work on them slowly. I'll just be a hands-off manager, only providing requirements and not writing code. Over time, everyone will think, 'President Lu is just a product manager; the technical stuff is still up to the team.'"
Shen Yuege looked at him: "Can you hold back?"
"You have to endure it, even if you can't help it. When you can't help it, just think of Engineer Liu's face."
Shen Yuege couldn't help but laugh: "Engineer Liu doesn't look scary at all."
"He's not intimidating, he's clear-headed. That's exactly the kind of person the company needs. He dares to say what others don't dare to say, and he's comfortable asking questions that others are too embarrassed to ask. With someone like that around, I won't get carried away."
Lu Ran stood up, supporting himself on the sofa armrest, and slowly walked a few steps around the living room.
My leg is still a little lame, but I no longer need crutches.
The doctor said that after another week or two of rest, I will be able to walk normally, and then I will do another half month of rehabilitation training.
"Your leg is almost healed." Shen Yuege looked at his back.
"Yes. I can walk on my own now, but I can't walk very fast. It still hurts a little when I walk fast."
"Then take your time, no rush."
Lu Ran turned around and looked at her: "Yuege, you've been with me all this time, which must have caused quite a bit of trouble at the studio, right?"
"So what if it's delayed? It's not urgent." Shen Yuege stood up. "But since you mentioned it, I actually wanted to discuss something with you."
"What is it?"
"About 'Super Girl'."
Lu Ran paused for a moment, then walked back to the sofa and sat down: "What happened to 'Super Girl'?"
"Nothing's wrong, it's just wonderful." Shen Yuege sat down next to him. "You know how popular this show is; it's still in the top ten on TUTU. Because of this show, our studio has received several times more collaboration offers than before. I now have more than a dozen proposals in hand, all from various brands that want to collaborate with us."
She paused, then continued, "So I was thinking, we can't just do one 'Super Girl.' After we finish the female version, we can do the male version. You mentioned the idea of 'Happy Boys' before, and I've thought about it seriously and think it's feasible. We can do 'Happy Boys' in the winter and spring, and 'Super Girl' in the summer and autumn, alternating between the two shows to capture the popularity throughout the year. That way, Xingyue Studio won't just be my studio, Shen Yuege's studio, but a platform that can continuously produce content."
After listening, Lu Ran nodded: "You've thought further ahead than I have. I just mentioned an idea, and you've already figured out the operational schedule."
"Of course. You just give me ideas, and I'll handle the details. You can focus on your games at the company, and I'll focus on my shows at the studio. We'll each do our own thing and won't interfere with each other."
"Then what do you need me to do?"
Shen Yuege thought for a moment and said, "Not for now. You should focus on healing your leg and finishing 'Minecraft.' I'll handle the program myself, so don't worry about it."
"What about the theme song? 'Super Girl' has 'Sing If You Want,' so 'Happy Boys' should have a theme song too, right?"
Shen Yuege glanced at him: "You don't need to worry about it. I'll figure out a way to handle the theme song."
Her tone was firm, as if she had already made up her mind.
Lu Ran didn't press further, and nodded: "Okay. It's your decision."
The two chatted about other things for a while, then washed up and went to bed.
Lu Ran lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, Liu Gong's words still echoing in his mind.
Engineer Liu is right.
Inconsistent coding style; one person cannot write code in two different styles.
This is a fatal flaw; it cannot be explained.
He could only pray that the people in the company wouldn't take it too seriously, because if they did, he wouldn't be able to smooth things over.
But he also realized one thing—the things the system gave him couldn't be used directly.
After taking it, you need to digest it first, break it down and break it down, turn it into your own, and then take it out little by little.
We can't just throw it all out at once, that would be too scary.
I can write one song a day because songwriting is inherently driven by inspiration.
Making games won't work; making games is engineering, and engineering takes time.
A large-scale game cannot be written by one person alone. Even in the previous life, it was developed by multiple employees of a company.
What he needs to do next is to find a reasonable rhythm between the system's proposed plan and the actual timeframe.
Too fast won't work, and too slow won't work either.
Going too fast will arouse suspicion, while going too slow will waste opportunities.
He needs to find the right rhythm gradually.
Starting tomorrow, I will keep a low profile.
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